A little bit of rain can be inconvenient, more rain destroys crops and now Mississippi has had enough rain to cancel its largest professional sports event.
The Viking Classic, a PGA Tour event, was canceled after more than 20 inches of rain over the past six weeks left the course un-playable. The last time a PGA Tour event was cancelled was the 1996 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Dale Persons, vice president for corporate development at Viking, said it is important to think of some of the positive things that can still be gleaned from the event.
“The charities will still benefit,” Persons said. “They will still be receiving sizable contributions.”
Persons said Viking tries to always see the optimistic side of situations and said that though the cancellation of the event was regrettable, several good things came out of it.
Culinary demonstrations on site, meant for golf tour participants, found its way onto national television when the rain left the Golf Channel with very few options for video footage. The demonstrations included plenty of Viking logos and products and ran throughout the course of the event, often attracting standing-room-only crowds.
“They said some very nice things about us,” Persons said.
Persons said he is looking forward to next year’s event.
“Next year is going to be a great year,” Persons said. “It couldn’t happen twice, could it? We had a curveball thrown at us, but we held our chins up and said it will be okay.”
While Viking may be able to recover, several of those on the tour depended on the event to obtain their “tour cards.” Spectator fans of golf will also find little solace in Viking’s ability to make the best of the situation. Persons said he understands their frustration.
“It a big event for Mississippi,” Persons said. “So many volunteers came out here and worked and became involved. It was disappointing to watch. It didn’t come suddenly. We could see it was coming. It’s just sad for a lot of people.”
